Customer Reviews

Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved CASTLEVANIA: LEGACY OF DARKNESS! The storyline is supurb and the gameplay is engrossing! This is far superior to any of the previous CASTLEVANIA side-scrollers that appeared on other consoles. All of them had no story whatsoever and players can only stay occupied by running, jumping, and attacking before realizing that they are playing the same thing over and over with a new background, slightly different enemies, and a change of background music. CASTLEVANIA: LEGACY OF DARKNESS provides a refreshing alternative to the mindless CASTLEVANIAs of the past with stunning in-game graphics and lighting effects. The Cinemas lack a bit graphically, but the stories they portray will more than make up for it.

As for music, the eerie melodies set the many different moods throughout the game; from the chilling notes during the plot twists to the eerily calm music just before a climax, this game has a wealth of spectacularly composed melodies.

As for gameplay, the controls take some mastering. However, once you learn them, play is natural. While some complain of jerky camera movements, these are easily eliminated using the correct camera setting and an experienced gamer will realize that the problem is non-existant.

Overall, CASTLEVANIA: LEGACY OF DARKNESS is one of the finest specimens of a game I've ever seen. With 4 full-length quests from 4 different characters, the gameplay goes on and on. Plus, multiple endings add to the replay value. This is a MUST HAVE!

Tradition gameplay, with a twist! Run, jump, fall, die, repeat. A captivating game with stunning graphics, Legacy allows you to play Cornell, a man-beast that can actually make those jumps on try five. Press the "L" button to morph into a were-wolf(no full moon required) and become twice as strong. If you defeat "Dracula" with Cornell, you can play as Henry, the little boy Cornell saved from the chainsaw man. This time Henry has a nine shot pistol. Sweet! Legacy is not for those with weak stomachs. The bats tear at your flesh, and the gears in the Clock Tower grind you into a bloody pulp. Nasty! If you relish in Goth and gore, Castlevania is for you. Also, if you have a saved Legacy file, pop in Castlevania64, play to the end, and watch as the real Dracula tears you apart with atom bombs, fire dragons, and mega shockwaves. Awesome!

Go back 8 years in time before Castlevania 1.A young man,half beast-half man must save his only blood family relative alive today,his sister Ada.Cornell unleashes his wolf power and goes against skeletons,bats,vampires,werewolfs,and more to save is sister's soul.Ada was taken from her house,and her village was burnt to the ground,no survivors.Ada will have enough blood to bring back the one the only DRACULA.Cornell's journey begins in a foggy old lake,on a ship.Cornell kills a huge and very scary sea monster.Then he goes to a forest,an old castle,a villa,and then DRACULA'S CASTLE.Great music.For 10 and up due to bloody violence.

This game rules! It was a vast imporovement over the first Castlevania. Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness has everything you could ask for, more levels, better graphics(thanks to the expansion pak), and not to mention the chance to actually play in 3-D as a werewolf! If you spend the time to actually play this game, you might find some very rewarding suprises such as a knight, better costumes, and a Magnum! Overall this is an excellent choice for Castlevania fans, and for players who have never experienced Castlevania, now is the time to sink your fangs into it! Peace!

The original Castlevania 64 was under par, not just because of the twitchy camera or the graphics but because of the short length of the game. The "Legacy of Darkness" expansion brought two new characters including the one I thought was strongest and most well-rounded, Carrie. I enjoy her stages the most.

The graphics look extremely dated and they weren't the best even when the game came out, but I don't think they take much from the gaming experience. My biggest gripe was the difficult controls, which made jumps difficult, and the camera wasn't the best, but most games have a camera problem.

There isn't all that much of a story to speak of, it's mostly straight adventuring, which is what I want out of a game. It's colorful and has a lot of action, and in general it's engaging fun, although not that deep. I'd recommend it.

After the horrid Castlevania 64, Konami releases Legacy of Darkness, the prequel. While it's not entirely terrible, it's a very overrated Castlevania title in my opinion. Hey, I'm a huge Castlevania fan, so needlesstosay I have to be critical. Read on:

THE GOOD
This game has four playable characters and each have their own storyline. You start off as a were-man named Cornell and he's an interesting character. The graphics are slightly improved over the previous outing and the character designs are much smoother.

THE BAD
Just like the previous game, this one's got the same controls and that same damn N64 controller. It's quite bothersome controlling your character in getting him/her to do what you want. The were-man character has his problems, too; he has virtually no difference between his human and werewolf forms, and even then, he can't transform immediately. A shame, because he is an interesting character. The music, while not terrible, doesn't stand out like most of the Castlevanias.

OVERALL
While this game does hold onto the style of Castlevania and it has more unique storylines thrown in, it's still a pretty average game. My guess as to why many gamers give it raving reviews is because "it's in 3-D." Bah. I'm not saying Castlevania was meant only for 2-D (after all, the upcoming Castlevania for PS2 sounds very promising), but my point is that many of today's gamers only care about graphics and 3-D stuff. This game had potential, but it comes off as merely average. Check out the NES games and Symphony of the Night instead.

By far Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness is a better game than Castlevania 64, however, it is not as good as others say. As a long time fan of the Castlevania series, I purchased this game thinking of how kewl it would be to play as a werewolf, boy was i mistaken. Turning into a werewolf saps the amount of jewels you've collected and once you turn into a werewolf you can't change back until all your jewels are gone. Not only that but there really isn't a difference between turning into a werewolf and staying human. I beat Dracula without even transforming! i would suggest getting this game if you haven't purchased Castlevania 64, which is a horrid addition to the Castlevania series and if you already own an N64. However, if you don't own an N64, don't buy one to play this game, it isn't worth it. Get Game boy advanced and get castlevania circle of the moon or harmony of dissidence

This has to be the best game I ever played. At first I was hesitant because Castlevania 64 was kinda iffy but I decided what the heck. I was amazed at how much the play control had improved and how the levels were much longer and a lot more fun. Not to mention two totaly new characters with storylines all their own but if you earned them you can also you the characters from the previous Castlevania game. This adds great replay value. So in my opinion you should get this game even if you are a veteran of the series or just starting you will love it.

This game was so cool. It has great graphics and has a cool story. It is like a Resident Evil only with vampires instead of Zombies. Also this game has 4 different players that can only be unlocked as you play through the game. There is also difculty levels Easy, Medium or hard. Plus you don't need to have played the first Castlevania game to understand this game because this game is a prequal to the first game. Also I never played the first one and I love this the second one. The only thing I have to say about this game is that it is simply perfect.

Legacy of Darkness, like its predecessor, is just one of those games that are so close to the line between excellent and mediocre that all the players either wind up loving it or hating it. While some people seem to want to hand Konami an Academy Award, others want to impale them on a wooden stake. I would love to claim open-mindness and 'moderation' but I shamelessly admit I'm in the first camp.
When I played the first Castlevania, I simply loved it. As soon as I saw my character use his awesome whip, I felt like I was playing a true Castlevania game. The feeling did not diminish throughout the game, and the final battle(s) with Dracula brought back memories of the first Castlevania. For those of you who have not played Castlevania 64, I apologize, because I am going to do A LOT of comparing between that game and Legacy of Darkness.
In Legacy, the character you start out with, instead of Reinhardt (the guy with the whip), is a strapping young fellow named Cornell, who packs a nasty whallop with his energy blasts and can turn into a werewolf (tho this is not very helpful, it sucks your energy like a vacuum). I can sympathize with those who do not find him or his quest very 'Castlevania-like', because of his method of attack and other reasons. But believe me, eventually you will unlock Reinhardt, and be able to flip that whip as often as you like.
Anyway, back to Cornell. His journey is very similar to Reinhardts--but with fewer cool bosses. (Another improvement over Castlevania 64 is the addition of some new bosses). On the downside, Cornell does not fight Death, or Rosa the Nice Vampire, or the vampire/victim duo. On the upside he (and everybody else) has two new stages in the beginning--whereas the Cv 64 had all characters starting in The Forest of Silence outside the castle, Legacy has them start on the ship traveling to Draculas Island, and then work their way to the docks and then the forest etc.
Once you complete Cornell's journey, you will unlock Henry. Henry's quest is quite unusual from the rest--instead of going all the way to Dracula you are simply trying to find and rescue a certain amount of children in a certain amount of time. Henry is armed with a pistol--a VERY powerful weapon that takes most enemies down with one shot. This is a fun quest in that while it definitely doesnt feel like castlevania it is nonetheless quite enjoyable.
Completing Henry's quest successfully results in the unlocking of Reinhardt Schneiders' and Carries' (the original cv 64 characters) quests. In my opinion Reinhardt's quest is the best of the bunch, both because of his familiar whip and his exciting storyline and boss encounters.

Now to the gameplay. My main gripe when playing this game is the 'lock-on' capability. When fighting enemies, especially vampires, it is very difficult to execute a 180-degree turn, a must in a fierce fight. Those guys are fast and often your lock-on button will be simply unable to keep up. Oh, and that godawful camera. When trying to execute precision jumps, like on a series of ledges against a wall, you have to do everything in relation to the camera which more often than not is in an awkward, difficult to see position. Often too if you're not quick the ledge you are standing on will disappear and you will plunge to a pulpy death on the rocks below. But these are not game-crippling problems so overall I give gameplay a 3.5/5.

The graphics in this game while not impressive are adequate, and my only gripe about them is that the character's faces hardly ever change, so the cutscenes are a little stiff. when I say adequate, by the way, I mean that, although the textures and polygons are not so well-done, the environments and objects are large and creative enough to keep you excited and playing to see where you'll wind up next. Graphics quality: 3/5. Creative environments and settings: 4.5/5.

The enemies in this game as in most castlevania games are AWESOME!!! Many old ones from the early games and several new ones. The 3d cv games also boast a new feature--you actually get to fight real live (more or less) vampires. And these aren't the pale-faced hooded-eye tall dark and handsome vampires of the movies--these things are truly monsters, and do some crazy stuff in fights--like run up walls and ceilings, scoot about on all fours, do spins and flips that would make Jackie Chan jealous, literally vomit bats, and suck your blood if you get too close. Fun fun fun!!

Allow me to be the first reviewer to praise the music in this game--it is definitely the finest I have heard on any n64 game. Creepy organs, and wonderfully dissonant melodies make for a skin crawling soundtrack. Oh, and the vampires--they make absolutely LOVELY noises, ranging from 'dysenterous pig' to 'vomiting schoolgirl' to 'constipated lion'. I'm not kidding they actually sound like that. And when you end the fight by sending them down where they belong, they make a disgustingly beautiful screech that sounds kinda like 'I'm melting! I'm MEEEELTING!!'

Storyline: 4/5. The story in my opinion is not something for Konami to be proud of. Most cutscenes will have you impatiently tapping your foot saying, 'cmon, cmon, les go fight somebody already!' An exception to this are the vampire cut scenes, which make full use of camera angles and cinematography to make chills run up your spine.

Rating: This game is, in my grave personal opinion, borderline M. Blood there is a plenty, albeit in a cheesy and pixellike form. Corpses lie strewn about, and many of the monsters are just plain gross. Quite naturally death is a major theme with this game, so don't play it if you are easily depressed. I'd say kids under 13 should not play this game...thats my opinion, anyway.

Bang for your buck: 10/5. The reason I say this is you don't even need to purchase this game only if you have an n64, go find it on the net in ROM form and play it on your computer instead!

Summary:

PROS:

Exciting and exotic locations

Creative enemies

Good use of camera in cutscenes to create proper mood

EXCELLENT music

Makes you want to keep playing

Multiple endings

Fun characters

New bosses

CONS:

Annoying camera

Less than stellar graphics

Basically cv64 with some new stuff added

Many sections are very difficult (Frankengardner and his vicious dogs are back)

gameplay difficulty (jumping, turning etc)

Thank you for reading my lengthy review. Once again I repeat, DO NOT BUY CV64!! BUY THIS GAME INSTEAD, IT INCLUDES THE WHOLE OF CV64!!